La Compagnie Générale Transatlantique v. Persaglio
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff purchased of the defendant transportation for his wife and four children, with two trunks, from New York to Havre on the steamship La Champagne. The verdict of the jury establishes that they were wrongfully refused passage on that steamship, and that the trunks were taken forward to Havre and returned in about a year, with the contents entirely ruined.
The only exceptions which we regard as having any merit are connected with the proof of the value of the contents of the trunks. The plaintiff, an Italian employed in the Dupont Powder Works at Wilmington, Del., and very unfamiliar with English, supplied the only testimony on this subject. Over a general objection by defendant, h‘e was permitted to testify, the defendant taking- no exception, that the contents of the trunks were worth $400. After cross-examination, which certainly went to dimmish the worth of his testimony very considerably, defendant’s counsel moved to strike out his testimony “be
The judgment is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- LA COMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE TRANSATLANTIQUE v. PERSAGLIO
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- 1 case
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- Syllabus
- Evidence (§ 474*) — Opinion Evidence — Competency—BIeans op Knowledge op Facts. Upon an issue as to the value of the contents of certain trunks, in an action against a carrier for its loss, the fact that it consisted largely of c-lotliing bought by plaintiff’s wife for the family, and that he did not know the prices paid, did not render him incompetent to testify as to such value, approximately; it being a matter not capable of exact ascertainment. [Ed. Note. — Eor other cases, see Evidence, Cent. Dig. §§ 2215-2218; Dec. Dig. § 474.*]